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380 Chapter 10: Western Virginia in the New Nation—1787-1850

Chapter 10

Western Virginia in the New Nation – 1787-1850

T e r m s

suffrage, abolitionist, emancipation, internal

improvements, subscription school, contract, tutor, liter-ary fund, academy, tuition, toll, turnpike, navigable,

canal, steamboat, financier

P e o P l e

Phillip Doddridge, Alexander Campbell,

Lewis Summers, Nat Turner, Henry Ruffner

West Virginia: 150 Years of statehood 381

As you learned in Chapter 5, the new nation began with a weak na-tional government that left the country ineffective. Even the creation of the United States Constitution could not resolve the growing sectional issues that plagued the country.

Although the country was divided between northern and southern issues, Virginia was divided between eastern and western concerns. As more people settled west of the Appalachians, differences between eastern and western Virginia grew. Westerners believed the state legis-lature in Richmond made laws and established policies without taking their unique wants and needs into consideration. As a result, westerners wanted to change their government to make it more representative of all the people living in Virginia. To this end, changes were made in the Virginia constitution, but these changes did not resolve the sectionalism that continued to grow.

As the United States continued to grow—from north to south and east to west—better methods of transportation developed that moved people from place to place more quickly and easily. New roads were built, and advances were made in river transportation. The advances in transporta-tion, however, actually widened the gap between eastern and western Virginia. Westerners claimed their tax dollars were used to improve the infrastructure in the east because they had little voice in making decisions about where their money would be spent.

Below: Trains stopped in Harpers Ferry on their way between Wheeling and Baltimore.

Signs of the Times

382 Chapter 10: Western Virginia in the New Nation—1787-1850

G e o G r a P h YFrom 1810 to 1850, the center of population for the United States was located in western

Virginia: 1810 in Harpers Ferry; 1820 in Hardy County (Wardensville); 1830 in Tucker County (Canaan Mountain); 1840 in Harrison County; and 1850 in Wood County.

h i s T o r YThe United States fought a second war–the War of 1812–with Great Britain. During the war, the White House was burned by British soldiers, and Francis Scott Key wrote the “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

e C o N o m i C sDuring this period, a loaf of bread cost $.03, a dozen eggs cost $.12, a pound of butter cost $.14, and a whole chicken cost $.15. Postage was $.06 for up to 30 miles and $.25 for over 400 miles. An education at Harvard cost about $300 a year. A young factory worker earned about $3.50 a week. An able seaman earned about $3.00 a week. A child working in the New England textile

mills made $.07 a day.

G o V e r N m e N TPolitical buttons first appeared.

e V e r Y d a Y l i f ePopulation: The population in 1800 was 884,777, of which 346,631 (39%) were slaves. The

percentage of slaves in some western Virginia counties included Berkeley, 18 percent; Kanawha, 7.1 percent; Greenbrier, 6.8 percent; Wood, 5.0 percent; Randolph, 4.7 percent; and Monroe, 4.5 percent.

Fashions: Moustaches became fashionable for men. The first shoes for right and left feet were introduced. After the invention of the cotton gin, cotton clothing became more popular.

Science/Technology: Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals. Samuel Colt designed a pistol with a revolving cartridge. John Deere invented a steel plow. Morse code was invented by Samuel F. B. Morse.

Recreation: Golf was introduced in Georgia and South Carolina. Hunting and billiards were popular in the South, while cricket and boat racing became popular in the North. Ar-chery was introduced in America.

Religion: Mount Bethel Church was first called the Mt. Church in 1808. It became the nucleus of Presbyterian work in Hampshire County under the leadership of John Lyle. When the Reverend James Black reorganized the congregation in 1812, it was renamed Mount Bethel.

Music: Band music was popular, as were the songs “Bound for the Promised Land,” “Turkey in the Straw,” “Oh, Susannah,” “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes,” “Rock of Ages,” and after the War of 1812, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Education: Mount de Chantal was established in 1848 and incorporated as the Wheeling Fe-male Academy in 1852.

1740

1800

1810

figure 24Timeline: 1740 – 1860

signs of the Times 383

1750

1760

1770

1780

1790

1820 1830 1840 1850

1782Harvard Medical

School opened

1788U.S. Constitution

ratified

1795First railroad in

the United States (a wooden one) was

built in Boston

1811Construction began on the

Cumberland Road

1821First public high school

in America opened in Massachusetts

1831Nat Turner led

slave revolt

1833 First coeducational

college in the United States founded at

Oberlin, Ohio

1845U.S. Naval Academy opened in Annapolis

1856 Western Union was established

Cause and Effect

Focus on Reading Skills

384 Chapter 10: Western Virginia in the New Nation—1787-1850

Defining the SkillEverything that happens does so because something makes it happen. What happens is the effect. The

person, condition, or event that makes it happens is the cause. The connection between what happens and what makes it happen is called the cause/effect relationship.

Not all cause/effect relationships are clearly defined. As a result, it is sometimes difficult to determine the actual relationship. Often a cause may have more than one effect, and an effect may have more than one cause. At other times, an effect may not even appear in a reading for a long time.

To help you recognize cause and effect, look for• cuewordsorphrasessuchasbecause, as a result of, in order to, effects of, consequently, for this reason,

since, as a consequence, therefore;• thewordand or a comma instead of one or more cue words;• alongertextpassagetoread,becauseitmaytakeseveralparagraphstoillustrateacause/effectrelationship.

Practicing the SkillIn Section 1, you will read about how eastern and western Virginia began to drift apart. Geographical and

political differences eventually caused the rift between the two sections to widen. The widening rift eventually resulted in the creation of the State of West Virginia.

Read Section 3 and describe how the invention of the steamboat affected western Virginia’s development. You can use a graphic organizer like the one below.

Causes event effects